


Headhunters: Forever Fall

by ProfoundCranium



Category: RWBY
Genre: A.I Glynda, Covenant do exist, Crawler Zwei, Cybernetic bodies, Forever fall is a planet, Grimm wildlife (Sorta), Halo/Rwby Crossover, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-03 10:23:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14566965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfoundCranium/pseuds/ProfoundCranium
Summary: Ruby and Yang are dropped onto a Covenant controlled planet called Forever Fall. They're first objective? Meet up with team Checkmate. Then destroy a radio base, wreaking havoc as they go. Sounds easy enough, right? But you know what they say about the best laid plans...





	1. Rough Landing

 

"Ruby, we have a problem."

 

Spartan Yang-79 spoke through her helmet comms as she surveyed the mountainous landscape beneath her. A landscape that her sister had just taken a drop-pod into followed by a care package crate. Yang was standing on the back of a pelican, watching her sister as she hopped out of her pod.

 

"What kind of problem?" Ruby responded.

 

Yang is just now realizing how scary her sister sounds when she's pissed. The elder Spartan shifted her footing as the pelican she was in changed course and circled back, intent on keeping an eye on Ruby.

 

"It's Zwei. He's off course."

 

"Where?" Ruby asked calmly.

 

Ruby's voice had gone static. It was a sign, a calm before the storm. A storm of bullets and limbs.

 

"He's about seven Klicks north, on the other side of the mountain." Yang stated.

 

"How was that mistake made Yang? He should have landed only two klicks north, on top of the mountain. Is Glynda slacking off on her calculations again?"

 

Yang could hear twigs snapping through the comms as Ruby started running. Yet her breath stayed even and measured. Before Yang could tell her sister to slow the hell down, the face of a middle aged woman appeared on her Hud. Yang reached for her pistol before realizing what was happening and relaxing.

 

"Try not to give me a heart attack next time Glynda."

 

The Spartan spoke to the A.I., tone friendly and jovial.

 

"What can I say Ms. Xiao Long? You should be on your guard." Glynda jested. "And to answer your question Miss Rose. No, I'm not 'slacking off' as you so eloquently put it. There was a slight delay in the launching mechanism for Zwei's drop-pod."

 

Ruby was silent for a few moments before responding, tone cool as ice.

 

"Where am I going Glynda? I'm about half-way up the mountain. How is Zwei doing?"

 

Yang looked at the small mountain and sure enough, there was a red and black blur zipping up the side of it. Ruby was using her Speed Module.

 

"Zwei's Crate is structurally sound and he is most likely unharmed." Glynda said.

 

"I'm sensing that there's a catch." Ruby responded without missing a beat.

 

Yang watched as Ruby raced through the foliage, speeding up as she drew closer to the mountains peak.

 

"Yes, unfortunately there is an unknown number of covenant reinforcements on the way to intercept the crash site.

 

The pelican Yang was in flew around, attempting to track Ruby's progress as she descended the mountain. Except she wasn't descending. The mountainside was a sheer cliff. Which meant that Ruby was free falling at least five-hundred stories.

 

"Ruby?" Yang said, sounding slightly concerned for her sister.

 

"Yes Yang?" Ruby's voice was mixed in with the screech of wind resistance.

 

"Please don't crash and die? Alright? Your sister can't take that stress right now." Yang was only partially joking, Ruby wouldn't die so easily. But there was that small chance.

 

"Your concern is noted."

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

Ruby loves speed. The young Spartan savored the feeling of the wind as she fell from around five thousand meters. A Height That was rapidly dwindling. Ruby thought about the mission as she fell. The need for some reconnaissance on a Covenant owned planet known as Forever Fall, Ruby being selected by her team to go first while another team was dropped elsewhere on the planet. Yang, stronger than Ruby, running support.

 

**_3,000 meters_ **

 

The shaky pod ride down to the surface, the thrill of an unknown environment, Zwei landing off course, the rush up the mountain, the pre-fight adrenaline. The thought of Covenant getting their filthy hands on her partner.

 

**_2,000 meters_ **

 

The fact that Yang could drop in to help at any moment like a meteor bound straight for hell. The reassuring weight of Ruby's weapons on her back and hips. The screaming of the wind in her ears.

 

**_1,000 meters_ **

 

Wondering if the other team was having as much trouble as she was, wondering if the speed module was up to snuff and wouldn't malfunction this time. Wondering, when was the last time she was out of armor?

 

**_500 meters-landing imminent_  **

 

Ruby's eyes refocused themselves at the panicked tone of her sister screaming in her ear, telling her to fucking focus. Ruby remained calm as she simply curled up mid air, putting her knees over her stomach and her arms in front of her face.

 

"Armor Lock." Ruby tensed as her armor locked itself in place with a dull red glow seconds before she hit ground level. Ruby flew towards the ground at an angle, bulldozing over trees and leaving a trench in the ground before slowing to a stop.

 

"Armor Passive." Ruby felt her armor unlock itself as her shields were no longer in overdrive. Getting up and double checking all her gear, Ruby made a quick observation of her surroundings.

 

"Ruby! Are you alright down there?" Ruby reactivated her comm unit when she realized that Yang was panicking.

 

"Yes Yang I'm fine. Glynda, where is Zwei?"

 

Beneath Yang's audible sigh of relief that her sister wasn't splattered on the mountainside, Ruby could hear the steady boops and beeps of Glynda thinking. A few heartbeats later a glowing blue diamond appeared on Ruby's Hud. The tag reading sixteen-hundred meters.

 

"That is Zwei's location. I do believe you should hurry. The Covenant are almost upon him. They're making a straight beeline for the crash site." Ruby started to stretch in preparation of a long run.

 

"Are any of them coming towards me? I just made a lot of noise." Ruby heard what sounded suspiciously like a scanner before Glynda answered.

 

"Not that I can see, Spartan. However I would assume that they heard you and are on guard."

 

Ruby leapt onto a tree and started to dash across the sturdy branches at a blinding speed.

 

"Noted." Ruby went radio silent after that, intent on finding her partner. After only a few minutes  Ruby reached the crash site and hid in a nearby bush to survey the area. It was a open area of forest. A circle of about fifty feet in diameter, covered in broken branches and flattened grass. In the middle of the field was a steel crate that held Zwei. A crate that was being prodded by a Sangheili Ultra with a plasma rifle.

 

Ruby surveyed the area, marking every hostile. The three minor elites standing around surveying the area, plasm rifles at the ready. One on each side of the crate, excluding the right side. The closest one was about seven feet in front of her. They wouldn’t be able to see her. Ruby's armor blends in perfectly with the orange and red hues this forest and it's wildlife reflected. Ruby caught site of a group of five grunts standing to the right chatting with each other. A Lone Jackal stood in the tree above them watching over the entire site with a beam rifle in hand.

 

 _"There."_ Ruby thought. " _That’s my first target."_

 

Ruby pulled out her custom sniper rifle. It was almost the exact same as a normal sniper rifle, except for the increased bullet force that could take a head off an Elite at twelve hundred meters, the blade on the end, a suppressor, and the fact that it could be taken apart if Ruby so desired. A fact that Ruby took full advantage of as she removed the scope, allowing her gun to be used at close range. Taking careful aim, Ruby lined her rifle's sight up perfectly with the Jackal's head.

 

_3_

 

Ruby fingered her trigger and tried to channel that pre-fight adrenaline into breathing steadily.

 

_2_

 

Time seems to stop.

 

_1_

 

Ruby pulls the trigger.

 

_Thwip_

 

The report of the rifle is small and unnoticeable against the sound of the Jackal falling out of it's perch, blood following it's descent as it hits the ground. The body lands right in the middle of the small group of grunts, those of which unleash a wail at seeing their comrade's corpse. Ruby can't crank her rifle for another shot, it would be to loud and draw attention to her position. Instead she places it on the ground where she lays. After that she ready's a frag grenade and pulls a silenced sub-machine gun from her hip. The Elite closest to Ruby has walked over to observe the Jackal's body, and the group of Grunts has hardly moved.

 

"Perfect." Ruby whispers as she notices that all the Elite lookouts have turned towards the commotion, including the one that was prodding at Zwei's crate.

 

The Red Spartan activates her speed module, tenses, and dashes out of her hiding place while simultaneously chucking the grenade in her hands towards the crowd. Ruby doesn't stop to watch the explosion, instead she focuses on the elite farthest from the commotion. He would be able to see her if his focus wasn't elsewhere. Ruby tackled him head on, forcing him into the nearby brush. Out of sight from his squad, Ruby shoved the muzzle of her gun down the creatures throat before releasing a torrent of lead. The Elite never made a sound as he went down. The whole action took about fifteen seconds and was almost completely silent.

 

Knowing that someone would come to investigate soon, Ruby nabbed some plasma grenades off the corpse before retreating a few meters into the forest. Climbing a tree, Ruby managed to get another vantage point and continued observing her foes. While she watched, the hunter pulled out a canteen and rinsed the purple blood and viscera from her weapon. While Ruby had retreated, another Elite Minor had come over to investigate the disappearance of one of it's own. Exactly as Ruby predicted.

 

Upon finding it's dead comrade, the elite yelled out a wordless exclamation and called to his brethren. Ruby checked how much ammo she had left in her weapon, eyeing her head and counting out twenty more bullets.

 

 Ruby feels around her ammo pouches, counting out the numbers in her head."Three Magazines for my submachine gun, two magazines for my rifle, and five for my pistol." The Reaper nodded in satisfaction before focusing on her prey again.

 

The Elite had called for his squadron, but judging on how only one elite showed up, Ruby assumed that the Ultra had stayed back. Smart move considering what The Spartan was planning. Ruby slid down the tree she was on, making sure that none of the Sangheili saw her. When she got to the bottom, she placed a frag grenade at the base before climbing right back up the tree. It was a good thing that the tree Ruby had climbed was over sixty feet tall. It made this plan even better.

 

Ruby aimed her submachine gun at the grenade she had nestled at the base of the tree and let loose a few shots. With a resounding explosion, the tree began to tilt towards the landing sight. Ruby noticed that the Elites were aiming their guns at the base of the falling tree. That was good, they didn't expect Ruby to be nestled into the tree itself. While the tree was falling, Ruby activated the plasma grenades she had nabbed earlier and dropped them onto the oblivious Elites.

 

Ruby didn't watch to see if they exploded. She knew that the bombs had landed exactly where she wanted them to. She did hear the screams though, something told her that those hostiles were dealt with. Ruby continued to ride down the falling tree as the speed of it's descent increased. Activating her speed module, Ruby felt everything slow down around her as she took in the remains of the landing sight. The Jackal corpse Ruby had left by it's perch was no longer alone. Remains of the grunts and a decimated Elite surrounded it, shredded to pieces by the blast. Looks like none of them survived. That met the only hostile remaining was the Elite Ultra, the  one in charge. Ruby's eyes narrowed through her helmet as she glared at the Elite standing next to the crate. He was smarter than the rest, Ruby noted. He seemed to be staring at the tree, searching for the Spartan. Too bad that his efforts would be for naught.

 

Ruby unsheathed a large knife from a holster and got prepared to jump. Tensing her legs, Ruby leaped straight at the Elite while using her speed module. The elite seemed to move in slow motion as Ruby closed the distance, attempting to bring his gun up. Ruby almost laughed at his futile attempts of defending himself.

 

 

 

"Too slow!" Ruby yelled as she crashed into the Ultra. On impact the speed module deactivated, not that it mattered. Ruby landed on top of the elite, flattening him onto his back. At nearly the exact same time, the tree hit the ground on the opposite side of the steel crate. Ruby took about three seconds to take stock of the elite's appearance. An extravagant helmet, black skin, blue eyes, generally large frame, mandibles that were each armored individually.

 

The Ultra roared in Ruby's face and tried to shove her off. Ruby didn't allow him to get any sort of grip on her before jamming her knife into it's unprotected throat. The Ultra gave a wet gurgle in response, but it still tried to shove her off. Ruby wrenched the  knife out, being sprayed with purple blood, before shoving it in again. Ruby didn't stop stabbing until the monster under her stopped moving. It only took about five more stabs.

 

When the deed was done Ruby stood up and with a shaky breath, walked over to the steel crate. On closer observation, there was an obvious shutter door with a panel to open it right there above it. Ruby punched the glass covering the panel, revealing a keypad of numbers. Ruby punched in  the code 4779 and stepped back.

 

The shutter door slid open and Ruby was met with an electronic bark.

 

"C'mon out Zwei! It's safe now."

 

A few seconds later, a machine of Forerunner origin stepped out of the cage. Zwei was a modified Crawler bot. Ruby was unfazed, Zwei had been like this for awhile now. And it only made him even easier to bring on missions.

 

"C'mere boy!" Ruby crouched down and put her hands out. Zwei gave an electronic bark before launching himself at the red Spartan, tackling her to the ground. Zwei was large, about the size of the largest of earth's domesticated breeds of dogs. Ruby laughed jovially at Zwei's antic before sitting up and allowing him to lay in her lap.

 

"Are you okay boy?" Zwei gave a low growl in response.

 

"Yeah, it was scary. But the bad guys are gone now. They can't hurt you. Not again."

 

Ruby reached up and pressed a button on the side of her helmet.

 

"Meteor-79, Meteor-79. This is Rose-47 reporting. The package has been secured. Repeat, the package that was put in danger because of command's screw-ups has been secured."

 

Boisterous laughter played through her helmet as Yang clearly enjoyed her sisters joke. Ruby was almost positive she heard Glynda quietly  giggling in the background.

 

"You brat! You cut off your comms for half an hour. Then when you reactivate them, you open up with a joke and I can't even get mad at you!" Yang laughter continues to play through Ruby's helmet and all the younger sister does is wait for it to end quietly. If anyone asked her if she as smiling in that moment, Ruby would deny it.

 

"Why do you think I was joking Yang?"

 

There was silence on the other side of communications for awhile, but eventually, the elder Spartan spoke.

 

"What Evidence do you have Sis?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 Yang was busy lamenting how boring the inside of the pelican was while Ruby was finding Zwei. Feeling Jittery before a fight was common, so Yang just tried her best to sit still and wait for Ruby to call in. Except that when she did, it was with the idea that Command had some sort of grudge against her team. Suddenly Yang wasn't bored, she was wide awake.

 

Yang didn't bother asking questions. Most times, whenever Ruby has a hunch, it's correct.

 

"I don't know Yang, but I do know that there's no way there was a delay with Zwei's launcher. I check it myself the day before every mission. Someone would have had to mess something up."

 

Yang let loose a sigh before responding.

 

"You believe that command is trying to screw us over and your only evidence is a malfunctioning launcher and your instincts?"

 

"That's exactly what I'm saying Yang."

 

Yang pulled an A.I chip from her helmet. Holding it in front of her, a holographic display of Glynda flickered to life. Glynda appeared concerned, staring at Yang with a calculating glint in her eyes.

 

"Alright Rubes, I'll help you." Yang could hear Ruby's sigh of relief through her helmet speakers.

 

"That's great Yang, I'll drop a beacon for you to land by. This is the best L.Z. we're gonna find here."

 

"Good. Glynda will keep me posted."

 

"See you when you land!"

 

With that, Ruby cut comms again. Yang let out a sigh before looking at Glynda.

 

"Well? Are you gonna help Ruby?" Glynda seemed to take a moment to consider the option before answering.

 

"I am loyal to Ozpin, and Ozpin is loyal the Spartan program. We have no ties to Command. So yes, I will assist your sister."

 

"Good. Then I want you to look around. Search video files, recent letters, emails, meetings, anything that could be used to plan a sabotage."

 

"Affirmative." Glynda smiled before vanishing back into her chip, giving off a green flash as she did so. Yang put the chip back into her helmet, shuddering as the cold feeling of a neural link washed over her senses.

 

"And Glynda?"

 

"Yes Spartan?"

 

"Please be discreet about it? Weiss doesn't need to know about this until you find something concrete."

 

Glynda gave no response other than the Blue diamond suddenly materializing on her Hud. Standing up, Yang walked over to the edge of the Pelican's open landing dock. From there, Yang saw that the marker was placed about a mile in north of the Cliffside Ruby dived from.

 

"Glynda, give those coordinates to the pilot." Yang, once again, didn't get a response from Glynda, but the pilot turned around and started driving towards the L.Z.

 

After a few minutes of silent flying, Yang was floating above the L.Z and rapidly descending down. Yang took not that there was a huge tree covering up a portion of the field and that there was a pile of bodies stacked in the middle. When Yang was low enough, she grabbed two backpacks off the Pelican's flooring before jumping out the back. Yang stuck the landing and stood up to see her sister sitting by a tree, a forerunner crawler laying down in her lap.

 

"Took you long enough sis!" Ruby had taken off her helmet at some point and placed it on the blood red grass next to her. The smile that Ruby had was extremely smug.

 

"Took the scenic route." Yang said as she walked toward her sister. When she got near enough, Yang tossed a backpack at her sister. Ruby caught it smoothly before speaking again.

 

"The scenic route eh?"

 

"Yeah." Yang sat down next to her sister. "Saw a pile of bodies on the way in."

 

"Yeah, I need one of your flame grenades to get rid of that." Ruby pulled a canteen out of her pack and took a swig.

 

"Where's your Rifle Ruby?" Yang asks, noticing Crescent's absence.

 

"It's in that bush over there." Ruby says motioning towards a bush on the other end of the field. "I had to leave it there. Can you please go get it for me?"

 

Yang sighed before getting up and jogging over to the bush, but not before taking off her helmet and laying it down with Ruby's. However, when she passed by the pile of corpses, Yang noticed how messed up the bodies were. Most were in pieces, and the ones that weren't were dispatched viciously. Shuddering, Yang grabbed the rifle and ran back to her sister.

 

"Hey Rubes?" Asked Yang as she handed the rifle to her sister.

 

"Yes Yang?" Ruby took the Rifle from Yang's hands, looking it over to check for damage.

 

"Why is there an Elite over there that looks like he tried to swallow razor blades?"

 

"Ah, that guy. I may have made him eat lead…….literally."

 

Yang stared at her sister in disbelief.

 

"What did you do? Shove your gun down his throat?" Ruby remained silent, but she did look away.

 

"Oh my god. Ruby why?" Yang seemed to be struggling not to laugh.

 

"It just happened O.K?" Ruby turned around to glare at her sister, though the effect was ruined by the blush dotting her cheeks.

 

"What about the guy that was almost decapitated?"

 

"I went a little overboard with the stabbing." Ruby responded while making a stabbing motion with her hands. An action that Yang couldn't help but laugh at. Ruby pouted at her sister before looking away and crossing her arms.

 

"What is our mission on this planet anyway?" Yang slowly reeled in her laughter before walking over to her helmet and yanking a chip out the back. Glynda appeared again donning her usual librarian outfit.

 

"What is it Spartan?"

 

"We need to be briefed."

 

"Affirmative. Your mission here Spartans, is exploration. Your objectives are as follows. Meet up with Spartan team Checkmate, destroying any Covenant bases in your path. Upon meeting, you and Team Checkmate will attack a Stronghold that the Covenant have been using to control radio contact across the planet. The strongholds location and the path you will take has been marked on the maps provided to you before the mission began. Once these objectives are complete a UNSC frigate will come to both retrieve you, and drop reinforcements in your place. Any questions?"

 

"Yes, why don't we just attack this base head on?" Yang asked, curious why so much more time was being spent on this them seemingly necessary.

 

"Because, if we did that, we would have dozens of Covenant ghost squadrons running around in the forest. And that would be both dangerous, and just a pain to deal with."

 

"Alright then. Thanks Glynda."

 

"Affirmative Yang." Glynda then vanished as Yang shoved the chip back into her helmet.

 

"This mission is gonna suck." Ruby seemed very fed up with this mission and it hadn't even started yet. Zwei seemed to share her opinion as all he did was whine quietly.

 

"Yeah Rubes, I know." Yang sat down and leaned up against the tree, mirroring her sisters pose.

 

"Well, what gear do we have?" Yang questioned her sister, knowing that she would have gone through both packs by now.

 

"Um…what did you bring with you?"

 

"My rocket launcher, an assault rifle, a burst B.R, a magnum, attachments for all of those, a few different types of grenades, shaped charges, and some Biofoam. You?"

 

"My Rifle, a suppressed S.M.G, a auto pistol, a few knives, a few frags, spare magazines, vitamin tablets, seven canteens, and a shit-ton of ammo. Speaking of which, i need some ammo."

 

"What caliber?" Yang started rummaging around her pack, looking for the sack of bullets she knew she had in there.

 

".197." Yang handed Ruby a small sack labeled ".197", before the red Spartan started loading the bullets into her expended weapon. Now the constant  _click-clack_ sound of bullets being loaded into a gun echoed throughout the clearing. Yang drowned it out, she had heard the sound before and has long since gotten used to it.

 

"I think we're pretty good." Yang looked down at her sister before reaching over and grabbing the pack away from her.

 

"You think so?" Yang yanked the map out of the pack before handing it back over to Ruby.

 

"Yeah, this is doable." Yang observed the map and discovered that the path they had to take was basically a straight shot north.

 

"If it helps, The UNSC will be dropping additional supplies at points marked on your map." Glynda spoke through the sisters comms, Yang could see Ruby visibly relax at the news. Upon further scrutiny, Yang could see that there were several points along the trail that were labeled as 'Safe zones'.

 

"That's great Glynda! Keep us posted."

 

"Of course Spartan." Yang could feel Ruby's eyes boring into her as she put down the map and leaned against the tree again.

 

"We gonna get going soon Yang?" Yang looked over at Ruby and took stock of her appearance. She looked uninjured.

 

"Yeah. Let's get moving." Yang stood up and Ruby followed suit. Zwei seemed sad that his master was moving, however her soon stood up as well and followed Ruby as she walked. The sisters packed away there gear and double checked to make sure that nothing was left behind. Yang donned her helmet and Ruby did the same.

 

"Wait a second Yang." The Yellow Spartan turned around and saw Ruby motioning to her.

 

"We need to get rid of them first." Yang remembered that Ruby wanted to burn the bodies she had piled up. Taking off her backpack, the elder Spartan dug through her gear before coming across a bright orange nitro bomb.

 

"Here." Yang tossed the bomb to Ruby, who caught it smoothly before pulling the pin and tossing it at the pile of bodies. The bomb let out a noise that sounded like glass shattering before the flames erupted out of the casing. The bodies were burning away in seconds.

 

"C'mon Ruby. We have a job to do." Ruby stood there and watched the flames burn for a few more moments, and Zwei sat next to her leg watching along with her.

 

"Ruby."

 

The red Spartan turned on her heel and marched away from the roasting corpses, Zwei following suit.

 

"Alright Yang, let's go."

 

Yang exited the clearing, Ruby and Zwei right behind her.

 

The two sisters never saw that clearing again.


	2. Preperation and Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Yang come across the target. Now how to deal with it?

Truth be told, Ruby did not think about sleep at all when being briefed on this mission. It was a secondary concern when compared to the actual mission itself. Now though, as the red Spartan followed her sister into a small cave to rest for the night, sleep was at the forefront of her mind.

 

"Remember when I said this mission was gonna suck?"

 

Yang had placed all the gear and weapons on one side of the cave along with their helmets The yellow Spartan had then sat down on the side opposite the gear, intent on creating bedding out of leaves. At Ruby's question the elder Spartan looked up and regarded her sister with a wry grin.

 

"Yeah, I remember. So?"

 

Ruby walked over and flopped down into a leaf pile with a sigh. "Because I'm saying it again, this mission sucks."

 

Yang laughed as Zwei simply leapt onto Ruby, intent on cheering her up. "Ow! Zwei, watch where you swing your legs!"

 

"I don't know Rubes." Yang responded as she flattened another leaf pile down. "This mission is kinda fun. I mean, at least Command isn't breathing down on our necks like usual. Am I right?"

 

Ruby let out a groan of annoyance at her sister's words, although the effect was ruined by Zwei perching himself on her shoulders. "Don't even joke about that Yang. Those higher ups are assholes. They treat us like property."

 

"Hey, at least they aren't as bad as the ODSTs! Those guys actually hate us, for literally no reason. And what about Weiss? She's nice!" Yang pointed out.

 

"Weiss is nice to everyone. And not all of the ODSTs hate us! There was that one guy we met at the gym! Couldn't say one word to us without tripping all over himself."

 

Yang thought about her sister's words before snapping her fingers, remembering something important.

 

"Oh yeah! You're right! He had blonde hair right? Blue Eyes? What was his name again?"

 

"I don't remember. Think it started with a 'J'?

 

Yang turned to the AI chip she had placed next to her leg. "Hey Glynda!" A green hologram of a middle-aged woman appeared, staring right at Yang.

 

"Yes Spartan?"

 

"Can you look through the ODST recruitment charts? Anyone with a name that begins with a 'J'?"

 

Yang starts giggling while Glynda pulls up a display and starts scrolling through it.

 

"There are approximately eight thousand four hundred seventy two people in the ODST recruitment program with names beginning with the letter 'J'."

 

"Oh, guess we'll never know then." Ruby said, slightly downtrodden at Glynda's report.

 

"Hey, don't be like that Rubes! There's still the chance that we'll see him back on Edelweiss!" Ruby perked up at the news.

 

"Is that all Spartan?" Ruby noticed that Glynda was still there, waiting for further orders.

 

"One last thing Glynda. What time is it? We know it's night, but beyond that we're kinda clueless."

 

The AI responded without missing a beat. "It is currently 2000 hours. Is that all?"

 

Yang went back to packing leaves into bedding. "Yeah, that's all Glynda."

 

"Affirmative Spartan." Glynda vanished back into her chip in a flash of light. The elder sister snatched up the chip, storing it in one of her chest pouches."

 

The sisters spent the next handful of minutes finishing up their camp. Ruby took stock of the supplies and Yang constructed one more leaf bed.

 

"Who's taking first watch?" Ruby asked.

 

"I will. You need to rest after taking care of that squadron back at the LZ. Just make sure you pass me your SMG before you go to sleep."

 

Ruby gave no argument, tossing her gun to her sister before following her instructions. She sprawled out on a leaf bed, Zwei following her lead and collapsing next to her. Knife in hand, Ruby slowly let sleep overcome her. The slow, dim pulsing of Zwei's electronic body and lights lulled her to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yang sat by the mouth of the cave, aware of Ruby's breathing slowing down. The Elder Spartan had donned her helmet again, fully on guard while her sister slept.

 

"Yang."

 

Yang pulled Glynda's chip from her helmet, placing it on the ground in front of her. The AI materialized, staring at the Spartan with a concerned gaze.

 

"What did you find?"

 

"Nothing substantial. However, there has been one consistency that concerns me." Yang said nothing, simply waited for the  AI to continue.

 

"It seems that someone is messing with the intelligence reports. Multiple Spartan teams have reported going into battle only to be up against conditions not specified in any intel."

 

"So someone higher up is falsifying intel reports?"

 

"That is the confusing part. No known commanders are taking credit for the mistakes. I interrogated several officers and no-one knows anything."

 

Yang was torn between laughing and screaming in frustration. She settled for neither.

 

"Glynda, what did I tell you about being discreet?"

 

The A.I gave that shy smile that someone gives when they say they're sorry for something, only they're not actually sorry.

 

"Glynda, I swear to god! If ONI tries to do anything-!"

 

"They will do no such thing!" Glynda's voice sliced through Yang's rant and shut the Spartan up completely. "I have left nothing for those monsters to trace! And I made sure that if anyone spoke about our conversations, conversations done in complete disguise, then they would pay for it!"

 

Yang was surprised as she watched the AI get legitimately angry. Emotions weren't a good thing for an AI to have. It was a bad sign.

 

"Glynda." Yang adopted a motherly tone she often used when Ruby was having a bad day. It calmed Glynda somewhat, but she still looked visibly distressed.

 

"No-one's hurting you. Any of you. I won't let them. Not again." Yang winced at the memory. That was an unpleasant night. Sometimes, when things were bad, the Spartan could still smell blood where there was none. Ruby would flinch at being touched when the same memories came for her. Only Zwei could calm her when that happened.

 

"Glynda, I'm okay. Just calm down. Breath with me." Yang knew Glynda couldn't actually breath. But when she got this bad, she wasn't an AI anymore. She was a human again, panicking with her students as fires blazed. The exercises helped slightly. But Glynda wouldn't stop _shaking._

 

"Glynda come on." Yang picked up the chip, ignoring how Glynda vanished, before shoving it back into her helmet. Yang was ready for the intense fear that followed. It was the kind of fear that made your muscles lock up, made your blood freeze in your veins. It was a fear that Yang had felt before. The Spartan wrestled her emotions down before speaking in a calm, static voice.

 

"Glynda, I need you to scan me. Don't think about the children, don't think about the fire, don't think about Ozpin. All I want you to do is scan me. Do you understand?"

 

Yang felt Glynda slowly calm down, now that she had a task to complete. When the AI spoke again a few moments later, it was with the cool logical tone she was known for.

 

"Name, Yang Xiao Long. Service tag, 79. Age, 22. Hair color, Blonde. Eye color, Varied. Subject possesses an increased body temperature, far above normal human standards. Heart rate, body weight, and caloric intake are all normal and within acceptable ranges."

 

Yang gave a sigh of relief at Glynda's analysis. She had calmed down and was back to normal. Yang didn't bother questioning the A.I on what just happened. She already knew, it had happened before after all. All the Spartan did was return to her duty of keeping an eye on Ruby while she slept.

 

"Yang?"

 

"Yes Glynda?"

 

"Thank you."

 

Yang smiled behind her helmet.

 

"Your welcome Mrs. Goodwitch."

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What happened last night Yang?" Ruby stepped over a log as she questioned her sister.

 

"Oh nothing  much. Glynda just had a minor freak out. Nothing I couldn't handle." Ruby didn't look back at her sister. Walking forward through the endless forest seemed like a smarter option. After all, it's easier to ask questions when your not looking at the person your questioning.

 

"Then why didn't you wake me?"

 

"What's with all the questions this morning sis?" Ruby heard Yang bump into a tree, a muttered swear passing through her lips afterward.

 

"Answer the question Yang." Ruby hopped over a small stream before looking up. The sun couldn't be seen through the canopy. But the view of the sunlight passing through multicolored leaves almost made the limited sightline worth it. _Almost._

 

"Fine. I didn't wake you because I wasn't tired. Figured I'd let you get the extra rest."

 

Ruby let out a sigh before finally looking back at her sister. Yang had put her helmet on. The younger Spartan couldn't see her sister's expression, but she didn't need to see her face to know she looked slightly guilty. With a sigh Ruby gave her sister a soft gaze. The emotion behind it was lost, Ruby was wearing her helmet after all. However, Yang immediately perked up. Even Zwei seemed to detect Ruby's elevated mood, as he nudged her leg and gave a happy bark.

 

"How close are we to the first base Yang?" Yang pulled a folded up map from her chest pouch. After unfolding it and taking a few moments to scrutinize it's contents, Yang responded.

 

"According to the map, the first base is just on the other side of this thick foliage."

 

Ruby tilted her head, confused at Yang's answer.

 

"Wait, then shouldn't we have heard something by now?"

 

Ruby never got an answer to her question, because at that moment Zwei let out a low growl and started prowling further into the forest, spines on his back extending. Ruby crouched and went silent immediately, Yang doing the same as they both slowly followed the Crawler. It wasn't a very long walk. Zwei took cover behind a tree and swung his head, motioning to something up ahead. Ruby dropped to the ground behind a tree, trying to peer around it. Yang just dove behind a tree to avoid being seen.

 

"What do you see Rubes?"

 

Ruby saw a Jackal sitting in a tree about 7 meters ahead. He was twenty feet up, completely surrounded by trees. If Zwei wasn't here, the sisters wouldn't have known he was there until it was too late.

 

"Tree Sitter."

 

Ruby could hear Yang's chuckle through the comms.

 

"Oh yeah? How should we deal with this one?"

 

Seeing all the tree branches crisscrossing over the Jackal, Ruby already had an idea in mind.

 

"How about Eavesdrop?"

 

Yang immediately started climbing the tree she was hiding behind, chuckling all the while. Ruby remained where she was, keeping an eye on the lone Jackal. Yang should signal when she was ready. Seconds later Yang's voice cut through the silence.

 

"In position."

 

"Good. On my mark." Ruby pulled out a knife and readied herself to run.

 

"3,2,1, Jump!" Ruby ordered Yang to jump right as she dashed out from behind the tree, speed module activated. Ruby saw Yang jump out of a tree above the Jackal. The bird-like creature didn't even get the chance to turn around before Yang shoved him off his perch. As he was falling, Ruby jumped and crashed into him midair. Before the Jackal could let out a squawk, Ruby had already buried her knife in it's throat. Impact with the ground made Ruby violently wrench her knife out of the thing's throat, almost decapitating it. Seconds later, Ruby heard Yang drop down from the tree.

 

"Well, that was fun!" Yang said joyfully as Ruby stood up, taking the Jackal's beam rifle as she went.

 

"Yeah, it was." Ruby turned to face her sister.

 

"I guess we found their perimeter." Yang observed.

 

"Yeah, we did. Glynda?" Ruby reached down and nabbed the helmet off the Jackal's corpse.

 

Glynda responded through the comms.

 

"Yes Miss Rose?"

 

"Can you track these guy's via their radios?" Ruby chucked the helmet at Yang who caught it easily.

 

"Yes I can. One moment." After a few seconds, several dozen red dots appeared on the sisters HUDs and radars.

 

"Damn." Yang whistled. "That’s a lot of Covies."

 

"Yep." Ruby smiled underneath her visor. "And I have the perfect plan to get them all in one place."

 

Yang cocked her head "Oh?"

 

"It involves using this shiny new Beam Rifle and that Rocket Launcher you always carry around."

 

Yang started to almost vibrate in excitement.

 

"I love this plan already!"

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

"So, ready to go over the plan?" Ruby sat in a tree, surveying the base while Yang watched her back. It was surprisingly tame, as far as Covenant bases go. There were two Deployable Lookout Towers, or DLT's for short. They were each situated on opposite ends of a large oval shaped clearing in the forest, about. In the middle of these towers sat a dome-like structure. Made entirely out of that weird purple steel that Covenant loved coating _everything_ in.

 

"Yeah, seems pretty basic though. I thought we'd do something a little more extravagant." Yang sounded a little disappointed.

 

Ruby marked all hostiles and counted twenty six in all. The six Jackals scouting the perimeter, one of which had been killed already. There was four Sangheili of Minor rank, all on the second floor of the base, simply overlooking the area. There was two more Jackals on each DLT with two groups of six Grunts each placing barricades and turrets underneath them. All in All, it was a fairly simple base setup. Easily breakable, if you knew where to hit. Nodding in satisfaction, Ruby jumped off the tree she was perched on.

 

"Alright, so here's what we do." Yang's full attention was on her sister as she went over the plan.

 

"Your gonna do what you do best Yang. You're gonna have to draw as much attention as you can while I sneak around back. A basic flanking maneuver."

 

Yang nodded her head in understanding.

 

"All right. But how do I do that?"

 

Ruby pulled out her rifle and began unscrewing the suppressor on it.

 

"It's gonna be a joint effort. We'll start right at the front of the base. You'll blow up one DLT with your rocket launcher, and I'll make sure the other tower is taken care of. That explosion should draw all the Jackals into the kill zone."

 

"Did I mention that I love this plan? Cause I LOVE this plan."

 

"After that, I'll make my way around the clearing, killing any Jackals I come across, and shoot my way through the back. The distraction from that should allow you to charge in through the front door. From there, we finish them off with a uniform Sweep-and-Clear."

 

Yang didn't say anything in response. Instead she just sat there, tapping her leg with her fingers. A tick that usually met that she was thinking.

 

"But what about the inside? I doubt that this base only has four Sangheili guarding it."

 

"That's a risk we have to take. I seriously doubt that there's anything in there we can't kill, so we stick to the plan."

 

Yang nodded before standing up and stretching, arching her back as she did so.

 

"Alright then, lets do this."

 

 

 


	3. Faults and Betrayals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang and Ruby initiate the attack on the first base. However, they find something....unsettling, when they go inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Complete disclaimer. I have no idea what the hell i'm doing. This was supposed to be a short one-shot about Spartan Ruby saving her dog, Zwei. Now it has become much more than that because i don't know the meaning of the word restraint. I've planned out more of the story, but please keep this in mind. I'm making up a lot of this shit as i go. Don't judge me as if i'm the next Christopher Paolini. Please and Thank you.

 

 

Yang sat, rocket launcher in hand, in the tree line, awaiting the order to fire as she hid behind some bushes fifty feet from the front entrance of the Covenant base.

 

"In position." Yang said as she took aim with her rocket launcher.

 

"Ready to Fire." Ruby sat next to her sister, already zeroed in on the Jackals on the left DLT.

 

"On my mark." Yang tensed at Ruby's words, pre-fight adrenaline coursing through her veins.

 

"3"

 

Yang double checked her aim.

 

"2"

 

Yang noticed that one of the Jackals on the DLT was napping.

 

"1"

 

Silence reined, then the spell was broken when Ruby yelled out.

 

"FIRE!"

 

Yang pulled the trigger, her arm swinging back as the rocket flew. The grunts resounding screams were barely heard as the DLT exploded above them. Ruby had already eliminated her targets and was about to dash off, Zwei behind her.

 

"Wait! Leave your rifle! Take my BR instead." Yang unslung a suppressed BR rifle and threw it to her sister who caught and holstered it in place of her rifle. Ruby dropped the rifle at Yang's feet before dashing off without a word. Yang had never taken her eyes off the small swarm of grunts running away from her, already dropping her rocket launcher in favor of an assault rifle.

 

"This has gone pretty well so far!" Yang thinks as she takes cover behind a tree and reloads her rifle. The elites had begun to return fire. The tree Yang was behind wasn't gonna last as cover very long. Good thing that she was still in the tree line. She could do this for days. The CQC specialist crouches down and snatches up Ruby's rifle from the ground that was lying a couple feet away from the tree. A lone plasma round whizzes over her head, but she manages to get back into cover before one of the Elites can get lucky with their shots.

 

"Goddamn, these bushes suck as cover. Why did I agree to this plan again?"

 

Yang does the math in her head, while she waits for the elites to reload. The Jackals in the DLTs are dead, and Yang had dropped eight of the twelve Grunts. The rest made it into the base. That leaves an estimated thirteen left to kill, assuming Ruby hadn't dropped any Jackals on her way around. Yang's train of thought is cut off as a chunk of bark splinters right next to her helmeted face.

 

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT YOU COVIE FUCKS! I COULD DO THIS ALL DAY!" Yang dared a glance around the tree and caught about two seconds of sight before having to whip her head back.

 

_"All right. The rocket launcher can stay here, no good in close quarters. It'll take about three seconds to dash out and dive behind one of those Covie barricades. All right. Lets go."_

 

Yang takes a deep breath and steels her resolve before dashing out from behind her tree. Everything seems to move in slow motion as she spots the nearest barricade. It's small, about 7 feet wide and 3 feet tall, but it will work. Yang covers the distance in seconds, plasma rounds shredding the ground behind her as she runs. The armored blonde dives face-first into cover before letting out an aggravated groan of  pain.

 

"Fuck! You Covie bastards are SO dead!"

 

Glancing up, Yang noticing that her shields have been drained and are blaring warnings at her.

 

"Spartan, impact from a beam rifle round has sprained your ankle. Recommend ranged combat and minimum movement for the remainder of this fight until medical care is possible." Glynda spoke, concern lacing her voice.

 

"No, fuck that! I'm not leaving my sister to fight alone! Just numb the limb with Biofoam and lock the joint in place with armor lock. I should be fine then."

 

"Affirmative Spartan." Yang felt a slight numbing in her foot followed by the familiar yellow glow that came with her armor locking up. The CQC specialist looked over the barricade and counted out her opposition. Four elites had set up in the second floor, the asshole on the left side of the building holding a beam rifle being the one who shot her. Everyone else seemed to be waiting for Yang to make a move. The elder Spartan glanced up and saw that her shields had recharged.

 

"All right then." Yang unslung the sniper rifle from her back, replacing it with her assault rifle.

 

"Let' see how you handle this." Yang poked out from cover, taking aim with the rifle and firing.

 

_Crack_

 

Yang ducks back into cover before any of the Sangheili even have a chance to see what she did.

 

"Glynda? I got one right?"

 

"Affirmative. Perfect headshot. Just like you already knew it was." Yang chuckled as she listened to the enemy rage at the death of one of their own.

 

"You know I love bragging Glynda."

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I hate these bastards!" Ruby yells, putting four bullets into the third Jackal she had ran into while making her way around the tree line. Zwei was right behind her, claws and spines extended, fully prepared to shred apart any Covenant bastard brave enough to attack the Sharpshooter's back. Ruby dash through the forest, making sure to keep and eye on the base to her left. Luckily, Ruby had offed all the Jackal patrols on this side of the base. After a few more moments of heated running, Ruby finally reached the back of the base. Double checking the ammo in her BR, Ruby ran over to the entrance and crouched down.

 

"Yang, I'm by the back entrance. How're things going on your end?"

 

Ruby hears a few plasma rounds in the background before Yang responds.

 

"Oh, just peachy! Shit! I sprained my ankle! One of these split-lip fucks shot me in the foot with a beam rifle. If you want to take advantage of a distraction Rubes, now's the time for it!"

 

Ruby stands up and readies a frag grenade in her hand.

 

"Affirmative, prepare for a blast. That’s your signal to fire."

 

The base was simple, there was a sliding door, flanked by ramps on both side that led to the second floor. Ruby chucked her grenade at the wall on the left side. The grenade bounced off the wall, flying towards the second floor. Ruby dashed up the right side as soon as the explosion went off. The second floor was pretty small, it was basically a giant ringed pathway that was three feet wide. A fact Ruby took full advantage of. None of the elites were facing her, too occupied with the explosion on the other end of the base. Ruby dashed up to the nearest elite, unsheathing her knife and burying it in it's throat, all in a handful of seconds.

 

The two remaining elites that were crouching behind the waist high wall of the second floor, were now standing and backing away, shooting Ruby with their plasma rifles. Ruby used the elite she just stabbed as a meat shield as she dropped her rifle and pulled out a pistol. Ruby returned fire, watching as the Elites' shields flared in response to the damage, before the Sharpshooter heard a familiar _crack_ split the air. The elite on the opposite end of the base dropped, hole in it's side. Zwei dashed straight past the fight and started shredding the injured Elite to pieces. The other Sangheili roared in outrage before flinging himself at Ruby, intent on a close quarters fight. Ruby kicked the corpse she was using as a shield at him, causing the enraged alien to trip and faceplant into the floor. Ruby thanked his clumsiness by emptying the rest of her pistol magazine into the back of his head.

 

_Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, clickclickclick-_

 

 The Elite's shields stopped working around the third shot. Looking up, Ruby noticed that Yang had already shot the last Elite before she ever got up here. The second floor was officially clear.

 

"Yang? Have you handled the Jackal Patrols on the other side of the clearing?" Ruby heard Yang laugh before responding.

 

"Look outside Rubes." Ruby walked to the edge of the base and surveyed the battlefield. Yang stood behind a barricade, waving at the younger sister. Upon realizing she had Ruby's attention, Yang pointed to the opposite end of the clearing. Following Yang's gestures, Ruby noticed a few dead Jackal corpses scattered amongst the tree line.

 

"I dealt with those guys awhile ago."

 

Ruby smiled behind her visor.

 

"Okay Yang, we still gotta clear the inside."

 

"Don't worry, I'm coming."

 

Ruby watched as Yang ran up to the front door, limping as she carried her weapons. The Sharpshooter leaped out of the base's window, meeting her sister by the front entrance. Zwei leaped out behind her, hitting the ground with a solid _thump._

 

"Showoff." Yang said as she walked up to her smug sibling.

 

"How much ammo do you have?"

 

Yang shrugged "Enough."

 

Ruby turned around and stared at the door, wondering what was inside.

 

"Glynda? Can you tell what's in there?" Yang said, mirroring Ruby's own thoughts.

 

"I am not sure. The material this base is made of is tampering with my scanning equipment. There is however a very faint signal."

 

Ruby stared at Yang, head tilted in confusion. "Signal?"

 

"I can't tell it's origin or purpose, but there is _something_ in there."

 

Ruby took another glance at the door before glancing back at Yang.

 

"You gonna be alright with that leg?" Ruby say's, motioning towards her sisters lower body.

 

"Oh? You mean this?" Yang lifts her left leg. "That’s nothing! Just a scratch." Ruby glares at her sister's nonchalant way of dismissing injuries.

 

"Glynda? Please explain to me how a beam rifle round sprained my sister's ankle?" Glynda stays quiet for a long time before answering.

 

"I'm not sure Ruby. Spartan armor should be able to handle the impact that beam rifles produce."

 

"Yang, come here."

 

"Ruby, really I'm fine-"

 

"Come. Here."

 

Yang trudges up to her sister who drags her away from the door, back over to the barricade she was standing behind before.

 

"Ruby stop, we need to clear that base."

 

"Fuck the base, it can wait while I make sure you're combat ready."

 

Ruby looks at Yang's ankle, poking and prodding it while inspecting for damage.

 

"Can you feel that? Or have you already used Biofoam?"

 

Yang shook her head.

 

"I Already told Glynda to use Biofoam and lock the armor in place."

 

"Well than unlock it. I gotta test something."

 

After Glynda is done deactivating Yang's armor lock, she pulls out a knife and starts tapping on the armor plates covering her leg.

 

"Ruby? What are you doing?"

 

"Shh. Be quiet."

 

Ruby listens as she taps Yang's armor, checking for a small detail. After a few taps and resounding _clangs,_ Ruby stops and stares up at her sister.

 

"Yang? Has anyone approached you asking to look at your armor?"

 

"Ummm, yeah. Now that you mention it, some guys from ONI did stop by my cabin on the Edelweiss asking to upgrade it for me. When they were done, the armor seemed lighter. They said it was supposed to feel that way."

 

"Your armor is lighter because it's partially hollow."

 

Yang goes still, staring at her sister as if she's grown a second head.

 

"What?"

 

"Your armor has gaps in it, spread throughout to create weak points. And this armor isn't made of titanium."

 

"How would you even know that Ruby?" Yang doesn't sound scared or shocked. She sounds calm, analytical. Looks like training was kicking in. Zwei notices the elder Spartan's distress and lays down next to her, whimpering all the while.

 

"I build my own armor Yang. Titanium sounds different than regular dense steel. And hollow cheap steel sounds even more distinctive."

 

Yang sits there, stewing over this new information. Ruby stares at the base entrance, thinking. Under normal circumstances, Ruby would call off the mission. But that isn't possible, Radio communication is on silent to avoid enactment of the Cole Protocol with the only means of communication being Glynda. Unfortunately, even if they could call for an evac, it wouldn't matter because the ship wouldn't be able to get close to the planet. Any ship that has tried has been swarmed by a Covenant fleet, a fact the Edelweiss took advantage of to cause a distraction and drop team Checkmate and Marigold here in the first place. Ruby seriously doubted Weiss was gonna risk her ship a second time to evac Spartans without a better reason than faulty armor. No, Ruby was gonna have to complete the mission. Sighing in defeat, Ruby turned to her sister.

 

"We're clearing this base, then we're finding team Checkmate. We need help."

 

Yang didn't speak, just nodded before standing up.

 

"Let's move."

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Someone messed with her armor, fully intending to sabotage her. Yang could still barely wrap her head around the idea. But it makes sense ONI would try this. ONI would do anything with the right motivation.

 

"What weapons do you have?"

 

Ruby looked at Yang before answering.

 

"Suppressed SMG, Suppressed BR, and a pistol. You?"

 

"I have your rifle, an AR, and a pistol. Rocket launcher is back there at the barricade. No good in close quarters."

 

Ruby nodded before fixing the door to the base with a calculating gaze.

 

"Alright, I'll open the door. You get in breaching position."

 

Yang stands in front of the door, AR at the ready while Ruby stands next to the door.

 

"3"

 

Ruby's hand hover over the door's release switch.

 

"2"

 

Yang stares ahead, grip on her gun tight and steady.

 

"1"

 

No one breathes.

 

"Now!"

 

The door slides open with a _Ker-chunk_.

 

But no-one's on the other side. Just a short hallway with two doors on either side. The whole hallway is flushed in purple light, reminiscent of the hallways on Covenant Cruisers. On the other end of the hallway sits the backdoor entrance, closed and seemingly untouched.  Yang lowers her gun, gaze flicking from the hallway to her sister.

 

"Well, that was anti-climatic."

 

"Alright then."

 

Ruby leaps into the corridor, SMG at the ready.

 

"I'll take point, we'll clear these rooms out one by one. Zwei, watch the entrance."

 

Ruby goes to stand by the door closest to the right, Yang following her lead and standing in front of the door, gun at the ready.

 

"3,2,1…breach!"

 

The door opens and Yang is met once again with silence. The room was nothing more than an Elite barracks, with a few beds and nothing else.

 

"Clear." Yang moves back to the adjacent door.

 

Team Marigold breach the next door, only to find the same thing, only this time the barracks were designed for Jackals. Yang's fine with this though, less enemies to fight. She does have one problem though, where are the four grunts she missed outside the base. She was sure they had gotten in here.

 

Ruby took position next to the third door, the one farthest to the right.

 

"Ready Yang?"

 

Yang stands in front  of the door, AR at the ready once again.

 

"Yeah, I have a bad feeling Rubes. Those Grunts I missed are in here somewhere."

 

Ruby nodded at her sister before starting the countdown.

 

"3,2,1…breach!"

 

Ruby hit the button and the doors slid open. Yang was met with the familiar screech of Grunts as they fired blindly in the Spartan's direction. Yang's not gonna lie, she felt a special joy in mowing those suckers down. The room they were hiding in looked like it was housing some canisters full of methane. Most likely being used to keep the grunts breathing.

 

"Alright then, one more to go."

 

The two sisters got set up again by the final door. This one was different, Yang felt like something dangerous was behind this door but she didn't know what.

 

"Ready Yang?"

 

Yang didn't answer, just nodded as she pointed her AR at the door.

 

When the door opened, Yang expected something bad. She expected an elite with an energy sword, maybe a suicidal grunt or a brute with a gravity hammer.

 

What she got was so much worse.

 

It was an armory. But it wasn't Covenant guns lining the shelves. It was UNSC gear. Shotguns, ARs, BRs, SMGs, a few sniper rifles, boxes of ammo, food rations, bags of supplies, it was all here. And in the corner sat a UNSC orbital drop beacon.

 

"Glynda? What is this?"

 

Ruby walked into the room, stiffly observing the room's contents.

 

"That beacon over there says that this gear belongs in one of the safe zones mapped out on your path. The Covenant raided your safe zone!"

 

Ruby walked over and started rummaging through the bags of supplies.

 

"So the Safe Zones are compromised?!"

 

"I have no way of knowing that Yang! I can't scan the beacons until we're in a specific range. I can't see if they've been pillaged already!"

 

Yang groaned in frustration, pacing around the room wondering what the hell this mission was coming to."

 

"Yang! Look at what I found."

 

Yang stops her pacing and walks over to her sister.

 

"Is that what I think it is?"

 

Ruby held a Spartan armor chest plate in her hands. An armor plate that looked suspiciously like the kind Yang would wear.

 

"Yep, and your putting it on. This is actual Titanium, much better than the crap your wearing now."

 

Ruby leaves the armor on the ground before standing up and leaving the room. Probably to recover Zwei. Yang stared at the armor while she waited and noticed something. A piece of paper poking out of one of the pouches on the new armor. Yang snatched it up and saw that it was an envelope. An envelope that had writing on it.

 

**_To team Marigold_ **

 

Yang shredded open the envelope before pulling out a letter. The elder Spartan unfolded it and started reading.

 

 

 

**Team Marigold,**

 

**_This armor is yours Yang. We know about ONI sabotaging your armor, they tried to pull the same shit on us. Luckily, we build our own armor and quickly discovered ONI's little "upgrades". We know you won't have the same courtesy. So we smuggled this armor through the Safe Zone drops. We hope it reaches you safely, we need you to complete this mission. We want to explain ourselves, but we can't control where the UNSC drops us. Our best shot at contact with you is to just finish the mission. Only then will we be able to figure out what the hell ONI is doing. Take care of this gear Yang. And make sure you tell your sister that some of this stuff is for her. She's gonna need the vision upgrades later. Trust us. You better not die on me before we meet in person kid, my niece would bring you back just to kill you herself._ **

 

**_Stay safe out there._ **

 

 

**_Team Checkmate_ **

 

 

 

"Ruby! Get your ass back in here!"

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are welcome! Any ideas or criticisms are appreciated!


End file.
